Tighter Australian labour migration rules could drive skilled workers to other developed nations, say experts.

Countries such as the US and Germany have recently eased migration policies to replenish an ageing workforce and proponents of imported tech labour believe they could attract the talent otherwise bound for Australia if the political mood swings away from providing 457 visas to the IT industry.

Vivek Wadhwa, author and fellow at Stanford Law School, said Prime Minister Julia Gillard's potential revision of 457 visa policies would cause the Australian government to ''snatch defeat from the jaws of victory - again''.

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''After being recognised worldwide as a destination for smart technologists, [Australia] is reversing course. This is just when its local tech scene is beginning to flourish and when it needs these people the most,'' said Mr Wadhwa, who extolled the importance of immigration in his book The Immigrant Exodus: Why America is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent.

Mr Wadhwa's family migrated from India to Australia in the '70s but later settled in the US, where he started his first technology business.

''This will no doubt be a loss for Australia,'' he said. ''We are entering an era of exponential technology advances. In this era, skill and knowledge are the keys to being competitive. Australia risks falling behind and being left out.''

Traditionally conservative US and German politicians have quelled xenophobic immigration forces to import the highly skilled workers.

Next month, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting applications for the H-1B visa, popular among tech companies to attract Indians and Chinese. The agency expects to fill its quota of 65,000 applications in the first five days. If applicants hold a master's degree or higher, their employers are exempt from the quota cap.

American senators are also debating whether to double the quota, as well as how to expand access to visas through laws such as the Startup Act 3.0 and the Innovation Immigration Act - known as the I-SQUARED.

In February, the OECD published Recruiting immigrant workers: Germany, a report that favourably reviewed a new streamlined visa application process, immigrant-friendly policies, and a ''Make it in Germany'' campaign.

''Processing times are fast in international comparison; the procedure is inexpensive; and refusal rates are low,'' the report said. ''Recent provisions open up more of the skilled occupations for accelerated recruitment.''

According to the report, Germany receives the fifth-largest number of highly-skilled immigrants in the world.

India, the world's largest IT skills exporter, satisfies 80 per cent of Germany's technology job requirements. In 2011, Germany rejected only 2 per cent of applications from Bangalore.

Jonathan Chaloff, one of the report's authors, said fewer opportunities in the US, Britain, Australia and Canada - typically the most desired destinations for Indian skilled workers - could drive labour migrants to Germany.

''It would make the other destinations more attractive,'' Mr Chaloff said. ''Most skilled labour migration is demand driven: the job offer from employers determines the magnitude of flows to individual countries.''

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has cited rapid growth in 457 visa numbers to back her concern that employers were rorting the system and Australian workers were missing out on jobs.

66 comments

GOOD.

Commenter

MIKE the HAMMER

Location

ACT

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 10:40AM

Firstly - Australian economy can not be compared to USA or Germany. Australia imports far more than Germany or USA does. This is a dangerous trend and only the resources are keeping Australia afloat, everything else is tightly or loosely connected to the success of resource exports. Resources are not forever! High IP work, such as IT, medical research, etc, is much more future proof. Particularly for a small nation of 23 million (on global scale). Australia should be self-sufficient in IT and should export IT. Instead IT is being exterminated in Australia.

I don't believe Labor party will deliver on the 456/457 VISA promise, its just pre-election vote raking. Furthermore, Labor and Liberals are allowing increased IT off-shoring by major Australian companies (we know who those are!).So, I am with Mike The Hammer on this. Good. Let them all go to USA and Germany. I think Australia should be exporting IT to the world, not the other way around.

Commenter

acid

Location

melbourne

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 11:19AM

"Let them all go to USA and Germany."Sorry, but the indian migration to Germany is insignificant.

I just got the numbers form Germany:

14.895 people moved from india to Germany in 2011, at the same time 9996 people moved back to india. Most of these people have been students...There are not much indians in Germany, except students and chefs...

Six months after the introduction of the blue card (similiar to 457) in August 2012 approx. 900 people from india applied.

I think there are more Germans in australian IT than Indians in german IT :-)

regards from Germany

Commenter

Berliner

Location

far north :-)

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 9:55PM

Agree with you and Mike the Hammer..Even if they do tghten up on 456/457b visas, they will still continue to allow pffshoring anf leave IT on teh required skills list got permanent migration - There is no skills shortage in IT, just a shortage of cheap labour. Australian IT workers need to get ob bothe parties' case about this so it becomes an issue

Commenter

Lady

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

March 20, 2013, 7:44AM

Sorry about typoes -should read :'•Agree with you and Mike the Hammer..Even if they do tghten up on 456/457b visas, they will still continue to allow offshoring and leave IT on the required skills list for permanent migration - There is no skills shortage in IT, just a shortage of cheap labour. Australian IT workers need to get on both parties' case about this so it becomes an issue'

Commenter

Lady

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

March 20, 2013, 12:37PM

@Berliner...agreed. A german friend of mine works for HP and she and her team were vey impessed with a colleague working at the Indian office - I asked if they couldn't not transfer him and she answered that it was very difficult to do so as how does it look for the government to allow Indians to migrate and do IT jobs when jobs are simultanelously being offshored to that country - Wish our government protected our jobs like that !

Commenter

Lady

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

March 20, 2013, 12:45PM

USA has the largest software market in the world, Germany has the second largest. We are nowhere close. We need to nurture our own industry instead of killing it by not only off-shoring but also undercutting our own software developers, vendors and service providers by flooding the market with cheap (and yes, often shoddy) import of Indian labour.

Commenter

AussieIT

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

March 21, 2013, 12:10AM

Australia has already driven nearly a million of its own skilled citizens overseas, reasons vary from high taxes, unions or being closed out to job opportunities due to 457 visa's and the reluctance to hire anyone over 50. I continue to work abroad and get a couple of job approaches a week to do so. And its not linked to skilled migration its to fill temporary skill shortages, and given that wages in Australia plus tax are very high its a better option for skilled people in any case. I know people who once they got the Australian PR now work back overseas in low tax environments. Australia just dont understand that part of the equation yet. Its all about the PR in Australia. Rorting with a capital R and about the only thing Dillard has been right about since coming to power and the nearly as dumb LNP are still in denial on the issue. Fact is UK and Singapore are also now tightening up temp work visa programs due to rorting, its an international problem. If you are a professional why would you want to stay in your home country, such as Philippines or India or China, of course you will want to get out and live somewhere else, and this offers the perfect fast track opportunity to do so. In the real world of overseas employment, very few offer a work visa as a pathway to a PR, when you finish you are out, simple as that.

Commenter

The Sceptic

Date and time

March 19, 2013, 11:25AM

Very true - There should be no pathway to PR from temporary work visas

Commenter

Lady

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

March 20, 2013, 7:46AM

I seriously doubt you get a job offer each week, considering your writing skills...

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